However, audience figures in Ireland have been affected by emigration.

The biggest cinema-goers are those aged between 18 and 35, the age group most likely to emigrate.

INVESTORS

Adults in this bracket go to the cinema twice as much as the national average.

The Parnell Street venue opened as Virgin Cinemas in the late 1990s and later traded as UGC, before its current incarnation.

The two consortia which own Cineworld consist of around 22 investors. Overall, cinema admissions have fallen from a record high of 18.4m in 2007 to just over 16m in 2012, when the James Bond film Skyfall was the highest grossing movie in the Republic, raking in €5.95m.

Dublin City Council last month granted permission to change the use of the Parnell Street property's basement level from retail to leisure.

The application was made by the Nightmare Realm Ltd, which specialises in Halloween-themed entertainment using high-quality props, prosthetics and effects.